In our last post we introduced the idea that coaches play a variety of roles throughout a coaching engagement. Clients have varied needs and the trajectory of certain coaching conversations may cause a coach to feel they need to bring a different person to the situation to help the client move forward.
In this post we’ll look at the next three roles a coach might play to best serve their client.
Nudger: Here’s the situation: A client comes to the coaching session and has taken some action based on a commitment made in the last session. That’s good. However, from the coach’s perspective the action taken wasn’t all that aggressive. For example, they committed to reading a series of articles on the value of vulnerability in leadership and they read one.
One thing you notice as the coach is the client’s reluctance to fully embrace their commitments. They commit, then take a small step. There are always what sound like legitimate reasons why they took a small step, but you have your own thoughts about that.
What to do here? Well, you might nudge your client by gently pointing out that they had committed to reading a series of articles and while one represents a solid start, it may not help them reach their goal of being well versed on the topic. Could they seek to double their output this week towards the goal?
Another example might be the client who often shows up a few minutes late to coaching sessions and always with a great excuse. You might nudge this client to consider the value of being fully present and ready to go by showing up on time and even going so far as to not scheduling something back-to-back with the coaching session.
You see, we’re not outright challenging them but rather nudging them in the direction they’ve committed to go in. Sometimes, that’s all it takes – a little push – to get your client moving forward with a bit more oomph.
Clients who need nudges are usually the ones who are taking the coaching seriously and yet may not be giving it their all. You know from experience better results usually come when a client is fully invested in the process and therefore, a nudge is called for.
You’ll usually feel it in your gut when a nudge is in order. Well-timed nudges usually work because what you’re feeling is probably what they’re feeling, too. The nudge gives them the prod they need to step it up without feeling called out.
Accountability Partner: This may be one of the leading reasons why people hire coaches in the first place. They want the cadence of accountability in their life for a period to reach an ambitious goal. Just knowing you’re going to ask them about the actions they’ve taken since the last coaching session can be enough to get them into action.
Accountability in coaching can take on a few forms. The first is the coach asking the client about their progress on commitments since the last meeting. This is a given and will occur regularly. Another way is with a sponsored engagement where the coach and client may have a check-in meeting with the sponsor. This requires the client to have examples to share as well as their own reflections on what they’ve achieved via coaching.
The check-in meeting just shared can also occur without a sponsor. In a private engagement, a coach can build in to have such a meeting every three months to ensure progress and the opportunity for adjustment should that be needed. These meetings are in addition to the regular accountability built into most coaching sessions. They are just more formal and planned for mutual benefit as the client may also have feedback for the coach on how they could serve them better.
Accountability can also occur with check-in emails and phone calls in between coaching sessions. You might find yourself with a client who tends to wait until the eve of a coaching session to act. Checking in via email and phone in between sessions may send accountability to the client to act sooner.
Ideally, you want to become less and less of an accountability partner, so the client is not dependent on you to act. The engagement will end one day, and the client should be more than capable of taking purposeful action on their own without needing anything from you. You may even want to discuss this with your client as you near the end of the engagement.
Flashlight: This is when coaches help to shine a light onto an area that might be a blind spot for the client. When holding coach fit interviews, you’ll often hear the prospective client say they want help uncovering their blind spots. They want a flashlight to illuminate areas they can’t see.
To be sure, this is a valuable aspect of coaching to discover the way one behaves or “shows up” may be off-putting, frustrating or stress-inducing to others. These behavioral patterns often show up when we receive data via assessments and surveys. In a 360 survey, for example, a coach might see amongst the feedback a pattern of the leader not holding people accountable equally. This might be news to the leader that can help them take a step forward towards being more respected by the people they lead.
Let’s look at another way in which coaches may act as a flashlight. Coaches by nature are often very perceptive. They pick up on small indicators that might tell of something that should be discussed. For example, coaches will sometimes attend meetings as an observer to see their client in action. During the meeting they notice the leader entertains others’ opinions but doesn’t allow them to be fully explored and discussed. Instead, the leader expresses appreciation for the opinion that’s been shared and moves on.
On the surface this looks like good behavior to field various opinions on a topic and thank those who’ve shared. However, if the people who speak up aren’t given the time necessary to fully share and discuss what’s on their mind, they may feel dissatisfied by the exchange.
The coach notices this behavioral pattern and shines a light on it during their next coaching session. The client is now aware of a pattern of behavior that was not discovered in assessments and surveys since it’s not egregious – it might even be seen as efficient in a meeting context – but it may hinder their ability to have a truly engaged team that will continue to question ideas to seek the best outcome.
The flashlight role can be very valuable to a client and one a coach will likely play again and again throughout an engagement when it’s called for. What’s important is to gain the intuition to notice things that may be in the dark and have the courage to shine a light on them to see if there’s something worth talking about in the shadows.
We’ve now looked at the next three roles one might play as a coach. The more you understand them and are able to embody them, the more confident and successful you’ll be in your coaching sessions with a variety of clients. In part three of this series, we’ll examine the next set of roles.
There’s more, read part 3 here!
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